Gaycation (2016) Episode Scripts

N/A - Ukraine

1
Are you ready, guys?
Welcome!
- Oh
- [Laughs]
There's a lot of stairs.
- I'll hold your hand.
- I got it. I got it.
Let's go Oh!
Hey!
Yeah!
[Cheering]
[Cheering]
[Trills] Ah!
Did you see them?
Oh, did you see them?
They're just walking around, yeah
- Hey!
- Hi. We're coming up.
Ian and I are in Ukraine to meet
members of the queer community
and learn about the
LGBTQ experience here.
Oh. Should we press a button?
- Man: Not yet.
- [Both laugh]
- Hello?
- Hey!
Since we've never been here before,
we're going out for a night
on the town with a new friend.
Daniel: We brought you some alcohol.
- Yeah!
- Ahh!
We know what to bring.
You do your thing.
- And you'll make you a drink.
- And then, we'll come back in.
- What do you We do tequila.
- Do you want tequila or whiskey?
Wait, just tilt the bottle,
and then the liquid
Because of gravity, it just sort of
- Oh, is that how it works?
- [Chuckling] comes out.
- Cheers.
- Cheers.
Tell us if that's too strong.
We had a feeling.
I kind of want to try this. Do you mind?
- Yeah, yeah!
- I have no idea how to do it.
This has balls on it.
- Rainbow balls.
- Yeah, Rainbow balls. Yeah.
[Laughs] Yeah!
It's kind of good for your abs, man.
Vlad, you have to be,
like, fit to do this.
- I mean No? [Laughs]
- No.
How long have you been doing drag for?
Are there many drag performers
in Kiev or in Ukraine,
or too many?
Right.
Page: A former journalism student,
Vlad Shast now preforms
as his drag alter-ego
named Guppy Drink.
And he might seem
modest, but what he does
is pretty profound here in Ukraine.
Daniel: Why do you do drag?
Is it about self expression,
or is it about protest,
or is it about just about having fun?
Are you scared actually
getting into the taxi?
- No, not drag, no. I've
- Mnh-mnh.
[Laughter]
Wow.
What about this?
- It's like a
- Mm, that's kind of No.
Look at his body. That's
what the audience wants.
[Laughs]
Yeah!
That booty's getting big, beau.
Like Ahh.
The rotten child of the Guppy Drink.
[Cheering]
Page: Guppy performs at Pomada Club,
one of the only LGBTQ bars in Kiev.
[Cheers and applause]
Shast: Pomada!
[Cheering]
Ah!
Man: [Laughs]
[Cheering]
Oh, me?
- Aww.
- Yes!
[Cheers and applause]
Page: This club is
legendary here in Kiev,
but in 2014 it was the
scene of a violent attack.
A group of right-wing radicals
tried to force their way into Pomada.
They threw a smoke bomb and
firecrackers into the club,
causing a stampede.
This anti-LGBTQ attack
turned out to be one of many that year.
Ukraine is a nation in transition.
This is the Maidan,
right in the center of Kiev,
where, in 2013, Ukrainians
gathered by the thousands
in protest of government corruption.
The Ukrainian government just defaulted
on an agreement with the European Union.
[All chanting in Ukrainian]
For many Ukrainians, E.U. integration
held the promise of political
reform and economic stability.
[All singing in Ukrainian]
But for LGBTQ people,
it held the possibility
of steps towards equality
and basic human rights
and a shift away from Russian influence.
Instead, the Ukrainian
President, Viktor Yanukovych,
opted for closer relations with Russian.
Yatsenyuk: This president
betrayed the Ukrainian people.
He sold my country, and he
did it under the auspices
of President Putin.
Page: Eventually, the
protests turned violent,
and clashes erupted
between and demonstrators.
These events have come to be known
as the Euromaidan Revolution.
- [All chanting in Ukrainian]
- In the end, over 100 protestors
and 18 police officers were killed
while another 166 protestors
are missing or presumed dead.
Even now, when I smell this, um, smoke,
it brings just, like, memories
of the of the revolution.
Maxim Eristavi is one of the
few openly gay journalists
currently working in Ukraine
and reported from the front
lines of the revolution.
What does it feel like when you
come back and just walk around?
All the time, I find it quite emotional.
It's not normal when
you're in a normal city
living your normal, urban life,
and then suddenly, you're in
the middle of urban warfare
and with people
dropping dead around you.
So, what is the current political state
of the country right now?
Personally, I think the
revolution is still happening.
- Mm-hmm.
- Two years later,
it's not about protests,
violence, and active face,
but it is happening everywhere
In minds, in, uh
In the governmental
buildings, everywhere.
The process is still
there This uncertainty,
this desire for change,
a time to change.
Page: We're continuing our conversation
in a location away from the square.
Daniel: We understand that
you felt uncomfortable talking
about queer issues or queer rights
in the Maidan Square. Why is that?
I think that they
politicized this issue so much
that standing on the Maidan
talking about queer rights
or, you know, any political issue,
could backfire later,
and you can be accused
either of being a Kremlin
agent or a traitor.
If I criticize the country
in any way possible
- Right.
- I'm a target
- Right.
- for far-rights.
Could you tell us about
the LGBT involvement
in the Euromaidan Revolution?
LGBT groups, activists,
they decided intentionally
they don't want to bring
social issues into this fight.
A lot of gay people,
a lot of queer people,
they've been there,
and they were fighting
shoulder-to-shoulder with everyone else,
but it wasn't manifested in any way.
And I think it was one
of the biggest mistakes
of the queer community
here to, uh, keep it silent.
Now when you talk to people, they say,
"Well, where have you been
during the revolution?"
"I didn't see any gay people fighting
with us there, so why should we care?"
And I think that's very tragic.
How does it make you feel as
an out journalist in Ukraine?
I'm trying to do everything possible
to expose rising, uh,
animosity towards gay people.
But at the same time,
the constant death threats
and then when you look
over your shoulder
I've been through a lot
of stuff myself personally,
and I know that, at
some point, you know,
you have to stand up because otherwise,
well, you're gonna face death anyway.
- Maxim, thank you so much.
- Yeah.
- Thank you for coming.
- Your bravery is, like,
- absolutely astounding.
- Oh, it's no, it's not.
You don't need to be humble. It is.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
As the country regroups in
the wake of the revolution,
where does this leave
the LGBTQ community?
Page: We are in Kiev, the
capital city of Ukraine.
[Horn honks]
[All chanting in Ukrainian]
In the years since the revolution,
there has been a surge of
right-wing activity in the streets.
These fringe groups of
ultra-right nationalists
have an ideology rooted
in a mistrust of Russia
and the west and
believe in an independent
and socially conservative Ukraine.
Waging a battle for Ukraine's morality,
some groups coordinate violent attacks
aimed at members of the LGBTQ community.
Local activist Zoryan Kis
has experienced violence
at the hands of such groups.
They want us to to be scared.
They want us to hide, and they told me,
"We will be attacking every
event that you organize
because we don't want
you on the streets."
- Mm.
- "We don't' want you
to demonstrate your sickness,"
or something like that.
So we took part in an experiment
where me and my partner, Tymur,
we walked down the city holding hands,
and there were two secret,
hidden cameras filming
the reaction of the people.
Then we ended up sitting on
a bench at [speaks Ukrainian]
and Tymur was sitting on my lap.
And then, within three minutes,
we were approached by a gang of, um,
far-right teenagers.
They were obviously, like, Neo-Nazi.
They had some tattoos, and, like,
varying t-shirts with various signs.
There were, like, 10 or 12 of them.
They pepper-sprayed us first
and started, uh, kicking and beating us.
They said we are the shame
of the Ukrainian nation.
Page: Some youth groups even
go on so-called "gay safaris"
where they use social media
to lure unsuspecting members
of the community to
attack and shame them.
We've made contact with one of
the most notorious local groups
perpetrating gay safaris here in Kiev.
They're called Fashion Verdict,
kind of a dark twist on
the phrase "fashion police."
This group allowed one of our producers
to film for the night.
Fashion Verdict was founded
by a name named Nikolay Dulsky.
We've arranged a meeting with Nikolay
- at an undisclosed location.
- Daniel: Thank you.
Page: And as a precautionary measure,
we've decided to not share
the fact that we're gay.
- Hey.
- Hi. How's it going?
Um, okay, uh, first,
we're just wondering
what the group is that you're a part of
and if you could explain,
um, what you guys do
and maybe how many
members are in your group.
Can you describe more of your
values of these various groups?
[Sighs]
I mean, what are your
Maybe your greatest fears
of the things that
negatively impact Ukraine?
- Page: This ideology is spreading.
- [Shouting, explosion in distance]
Two weeks before we arrive,
over 200 ultra-right-wing nationalists
laid siege to an LGBTQ equality
festival in the city of Lviv
350 miles from Kiev.
-
- [Sirens wailing]
[Chanting in Ukrainian]
Page: We're at the
headquarters for Insight,
an organization dedicated to
LGBTQ awareness and advocacy
founded by Olena Shevchenko,
one of the organizers
of the Lviv festival.
What happened there exactly?
Can you walk us through
your personal account?
So, basically what we did,
we put an advertisement
on social network that
the equality festival
will be held in Lviv.
Yeah, we started, uh,
at 12:00 like we planned,
and in one hour we
calculated more into hundreds
of ultra-rights around the hotel.
They just surrounded the hotel.
Mm, and then, when something
like that happens
Like, I'm just I'm
wondering how you regroup
'cause it seems like
such a difficult situation
to navigate when you're just trying
to have a gathering for equality,
and then you're dealing
with 200 potentially
extremely violent people.
Well, when we came back was
a hugest-ever media attention
from Ukrainian media, from
international, as well.
Um, and it's a good thing
because, you know, this
issue, uh, became more public.
That's not just, you know,
an issue of one minority group anymore.
That's an issue of,
uh, violence in Ukraine.
Could you maybe speak specifically
to, um, some of the
challenges and issues
lesbian and bisexual
women face in Ukraine?
Of course, in our patriarchal society,
women's rights is still
something, you know,
not really popular.
First of all, you're women,
and then you are lesbian.
So, basically, that's a double stigma.
Feminism, like, that's for radicals.
- [Laughs]
- Mm-hmm.
But, of course, we are
radicals, and we use this word.
What does that mean for you
when I walk in your office
and I see this image, which is,
I'm assuming, a target on
you from various organizations
or groups, and what
does that mean for you
and others working here in
that sort of constant fear?
I don't think that we
are working in the fear.
We are, you know, experienced people
and really motivated ones.
Today, Olena has organized
a flash mob in Kiev
to support Lviv and to
make a public statement
that the community
will not hide in fear.
We need to unite our efforts.
We need to unite our
efforts to be more visible
and a more vocal movement.
I believe that that's
possible to change something.
I don't plan to give up.
Page: We're in Ukraine, where,
according to a recent study,
63% of Ukrainians surveyed
believe homosexuality
is a mental disease.
[Horn honks]
The organization Gay Alliance is trying
to change that by helping to
educate people on LGBTQ issues.
- Hey!
- Yuri?
- Hey!
- Hey.
- How's it going? I'm Ian.
- Great. I'm Yuri.
- Nice to meet you.
- Ellen. A pleasure to meet you.
Nice to meet you, Ellen.
How's it going? What's going on?
- Yeah, we saw
- Um, it's pretty fun.
We are having, like, kind
of informative campaign
just to support the
same-sex partnership.
Mm-hmm. So, what does this say?
It actually says that they have right
- for a common life together.
- Mm-hmm.
And this says they have right
to, uh, uh, grow old together.
Mm.
Page: Today, Yuri is raising awareness
for a bill on same-sex civil unions.
[Both laugh]
[Fanfare plays]
Page: The former Soviet Union
has a long history of using
propaganda to control public opinion.
[Speaking Russian]
And so, most recently,
the Russian Parliament
unanimously voted for a bill
criminalizing anything
deemed "gay propaganda,"
which President Vladimir
Putin signed into law in 2013.
[Camera shutters clicking]
And here in Ukraine,
activist Ruslan Kukharchuk
campaigns in support of a similar law.
- Hi.
- Hello.
Thanks for meeting with us.
We appreciate you taking the time today.
Your organization was supporting
and pushing forward a bill
that would make there be
an anti-gay propaganda law,
I believe, that would lead to a sentence
of maybe five years. Is
that something you're um,
still working on pushing forward?
That would mean, like, no,
I guess, pride celebrations.
Would that also mean,
like, no gay movies, or
Say, like, if an athlete
came out as a gay person
All of that, I'd imagine,
would become illegal?
Uh
Right, so, I'm curious,
then, how you feel
about just freedom of speech
because it seems like you're
for the right to protest
for your organization
but against LGBTQ protest.
Page: Despite the best efforts
of Love Against Homosexuality,
we're invited to one of Ukraine's
first same-sex ceremonies.
- Hi!
- [Speaks Ukrainian]
Ellen.
Page: Though unrecognized
by Ukrainian law,
gay-right activists Zoryan and Tymur
are having a commitment ceremony
at the local LGBTQ center.
If the anti-propaganda law ever passes,
what we're doing today,
filming a same-sex
ceremony for television,
would be strictly illegal,
and we could all face up
to five years in prison.
Daniel: Well, thanks
for letting us join in.
And can we do anything to help out?
- Uh
- Okay, well, you get ready.
We don't You know,
we're here to just
hang out. Okay. [Laughs]
- [Speaks Ukrainian]
- No stress.
Okay. [Speaks Ukraine]
[Laughter]
[Organ plays]
[Laughter]
[Cheers and applause]
[Cheers and applause]
[All chant in Ukrainian, laughter]
Page: It's nighttime in Kiev,
and the streets may seem quiet,
but below the surface
lives a small and defiant
underground arts community
that refuses to stay silent.
[Laughter, indistinct conversations]
Misha Koptev is one
such figure in the scene.
Considered by some to be an
outsider because of his art,
his unabashed sense of self
has attracted a cult following.
Daniel: Hey. [Chuckles]
Hi, I'm Ian.
Nice to meet you.
[Laughs] Interpreter: "I had a dream
you were naked under my blanket tonight."
You had a dream of me naked?
I think that's called wishful thinking.
Uh, who are you?
I'm from Viceland.
"Viceland"?
- [Speaking Ukrainian]
- Yes, you know the channel
- The TV channel?
- [Speaks Ukrainian]
I'm here to hang out
with you tonight, so
I'm in your world,
so take me around.
Page: Misha blurs the boundaries
between performance art and fashion.
[Indistinct conversations]
[Speaks Ukrainian]
Daniel: Yes. Okay.
Looking up.
- Oh, thank you.
- [Speaks Ukrainian]
- Oh!
- [Speaks Ukrainian]
So, wait, wait Tell me
what's going on tonight first.
[Indistinct conversations]
Oh, that's Oh! Oh.
That is your twin. He's crying?
Why is he crying?
Page: Misha gleeful plays
the role of the jester,
but under the surface there's
a lot more to his story.
He is just one of over 1.5 million
internally displaced Ukrainians
who were forced to relocate
after the Russian invasion
in the Eastern provinces.
After Euromaidan, the
country became destabilized,
and Russia attempted to
annex Eastern Ukraine.
- [Explosion]
- The region broke out into war,
creating a mass exodus of
hundreds of thousands of people.
LGBTQ people like Misha were among those
who left everything behind,
- migrating west toward Kiev.
- Hello?
- [Dog barks in distance]
- Daniel: Wow.
How are you? We brought you some
- [Smooches]
- early morning wine.
[Speaks Ukrainian]
- The whole thing?
- [Slurps]
[Coughs]
Where did Where
did you get this from?
I'm gonna start
controlling the situation.
Maybe just a little bite here, huh?
That's so good, so good.
[Laughs]
- Not the
- No.
No, I don't' think it's that big.
I wanted to ask you about your hometown
and where you're from
and what it's like there.
Page: In a nation torn
apart by war and revolution,
it seems that Misha
uses his renegade art
as a way to make sense of his world.
But he's only one of
countless LGBTQ people
fleeing the Russian occupation.
We're visiting the only LGBTQ safe house
for internally displaced people in Kiev.
- Can we come in?
- Marina and Marina are
a couple who fled their
hometown in Eastern Ukraine.
[Both speak Ukrainian]
[All speak Ukrainian]
Thank you so much for having
us. We really appreciate it.
So, how did you guys
first meet each other,
and when was the moment
when one of you was, like,
"I'm Marina," and then
you were both like, "Whoa!"
[Laughter]
- Wow, that one look.
- Yeah.
So, how long have you been in Kiev?
Guys, what was it like
on a day-to-day basis
in regards to violence
that was happening?
How did you two make
the decision to leave?
What's the ideal future for you two?
Page: Some LGBTQ Ukrainians
have been displaced by war,
but others can't even
leave if they tried to.
- [Camera beeps, shutter clicks]
- Fritz Von Klein
is a trans man trapped in
Ukraine because the government
will not issue him documentation
that matches his gender identity.
- [Camera shutter clicks]
- A self-described artist-activist,
Fritz poses for photographs
as a way of using his body as
an artistic form of protest,
highlighting the difficulties
of simply existing
as a transgender person in Ukraine.
I'm just wondering how you feel knowing
that then the government has control
over who you are on some level.
You have a kid, yeah,
you have a daughter?
Oh, my God. It's on rainbow flag.
Aww.
And where do they live?
You're not able to see her at all?
Wow.
For now, Fritz lives in Kiev,
which could be considered
a more cosmopolitan city in the nation.
But what's life like for LGBTQ
people outside of the city?
Our old friend Vlad,
who performs in Kiev
as his drag persona Guppy
Drink, offered to show us.
Page: We're headed to a town
in rural Ukraine with Vlad,
and, uh, spend some spend
some time in his hometown.
Page: We're now seven
hours outside of Kiev
in a small town called Bobrynets.
What was it like being young
and growing up in this town?
Shast: I wasn't able to be open.
Everyone hates to be just thinking
- about some gay stuff.
- Mm.
But, uh, to be open
gay in this town is like
- to be dead.
- Mm.
I heard "faggots"
like, almost every day.
- But it's made me stronger.
- Mm-hmm.
Hm?
And this was my surname
and other bad words
It's like "Licking of the dicks".
You can even see "H", "A, "S," and "T,"
and this was, like, bad word.
What did you mom say?
How did she feel about it?
- We didn't talk about it, because
- But she saw it, yeah?
I think yes. And this is not
the first one here, I can say.
There's a few ones was
near my school on school.
- So
- Mm-hmm.
it was the normal thing.
What does it make you
feel like to see them?
Shast: I don't, like,
have any evil in my heart,
because I understand that
people can do mistakes
and that people can change.
And I need to show by my example
that to be queer is normal.
Daniel: I'm wondering,
if you didn't have drag,
do you feel like you would
have made it out of this town?
Drag has given me the opportunity
to say to everyone that, "I'm here."
I'm queer. Get used to it! [Laughter]
Page: We're in Ukraine, where
Kiev Pride is around the corner.
Newlywed Zoryan has
organized a self-defense class
for the LGBTQ community to
learn how to protect themselves.
[Speaking Ukrainian, people
chanting in Ukrainian]
Last year he experienced
violence firsthand
during the pride march
when an ultra-right mob
attacked the event with
nail bombs, injuring 19.
And this year, an
ultra-right nationalist group
has promised a "blood bath"
if this event isn't cancelled.
For the last part of
the training session,
Zoryan hints that he will relive
an experience from his past
in order to prepare the class for Pride.
Oh, shit.
Daniel: He looks in
severe pain, honestly.
I mean, that shit burns your eyeballs.
Page: The fact that he just did
that to be able to show other people
the reality of that experience,
to help members of your community
feel prepared probably
psychologically more capable
of, you know, going to these events
or even just walking down the
street with your partner
It was a pretty unbelievable thing.
It's the day of pride 2016.
The city of Kiev has
deployed 5,500 police
and 1,200 members of the National Guard
to protect the marchers.
Every year since it started,
it's faced serious threats of violence.
[Indistinct conversations]
Man: [Speaking in
Ukrainian over loudspeaker]
Page: Despite everything,
the LGBTQ community
is out in full force.
[All chant in Ukrainian]
[Cheers and applause]
For the first time since it began,
Kiev's pride march ended peacefully.
[Cheers]
While our friends celebrate today,
tomorrow is a new day
back in the trenches in
the fight for equality.
It's been an honor
to meet members of
Ukraine's LGBTQ community.
They've shown us that the gentlest souls
make the fiercest warriors,
that real bravery is moving forward
in the face of uncertainty,
and above all their
hard work is a reminder
that two years after Euromaidan,
their revolution continues.